Bittersweet in the Hollow by. Kate Pearsall | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Bittersweet in the Hollow (#1)

Author: Kate Pearsall

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 10/10/23

Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Categories: Young Adult, Murder Mystery, Urban Legend, Romance, Thriller, Witches, Paranormal

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

In this beautifully dark and enthralling YA, four sisters with unusual talents investigate a mysterious disappearance in their secluded Appalachian town. For fans of House of Hollow and Wilder Girls!

In rural Caball Hollow, surrounded by the vast National Forest, the James women serve up more than fried green tomatoes at the Harvest Moon diner, where the family recipes are not the only secrets.

Like her sisters, Linden was born with an unusual ability. She can taste what others are feeling, but this so-called gift soured her relationship with the vexingly attractive Cole Spencer one fateful night a year ago . . . A night when Linden vanished into the depths of the Forest and returned with no memories of what happened, just a litany of questions–and a haze of nightmares that suggest there’s more to her story than simply getting lost.

Now, during the hottest summer on record, another girl in town is gone, and the similarities to last year’s events are striking. Except, this time the missing girl doesn’t make it home, and when her body is discovered, the scene unmistakably spells murder.

As tempers boil over, Linden enlists the help of her sisters to find what’s hiding in the forest . . . before it finds her. But as she starts digging for truth–about the Moth-Winged Man rumored to haunt the Hollow, about her bitter rift with Cole, and even about her family–she must question if some secrets are best left buried.

Content Warning: violence, vandalism, threats

There is so much I loved about this book. I love the Appalachian history of the small town that is Cabal Hollow. And the James women, especially the sisters, Sorrel, Rowan, Linden and Juniper, who have powers, but they are a tight knit group and I loved the sisterly bond between them. My favorite has to be Rowan, who has an outspoken personality. I thought Linden was a great character too though since the murder mystery revolves around her. I like how the suspect was hard to figure out and the explanation for their motives were interestingly tied to an urban legend, the Moth-Winged Man. Coincidentally, this is the second book this year I’ve read about a mothman!

I was intrigued with how curses, trades, magic, and consequences play a big role in this story. It starts off with one plea for life that ends up being a bargain that devastates people and families.

I also thought the childhood romance between Linden and Cole was so sweet. There was something creepy, yet heartwarming about this story once everything is revealed. I love the James family. And although they had powers and were known as witches, there isn’t a lot of witchcraft in this book but I thought it was a nice balance. I was really immersed in the story and I hope book two is about Rowan and Hadrian because the sparks between the two are off the charts!

Tropes: slow burn romance

Why you should read it:

  • the James women and their family bond – love how they are strong, capable women
  • the witchcraft and urban legend about the Moth-Winged Man, creepy vibes
  • intrigued from beginning to end

Why you might not want to read it:

  • this is being compared to House of Hollow but that book was darker than this one. I’d say this one is mild compared to House of Hollow and was more a mystery thriller. No body horror in this one.

My Thoughts:

I thoroughly enjoyed this book even though sometimes I struggle with mysteries. I like the pacing of this story, it wasn’t as slow as most mysteries and I love the James women. I love the sisterly bond, and how strong these women are. I also adored the slow burn romance between Cole and Linden even though it wasn’t a main focus of the story. I was invested in the urban legend and I hope we get more of Rowan and Hadrian in book two!

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Unfortunately Yours by. Tessa Bailey | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: Unfortunately Yours (A Vine Mess, #2)

Author: Tessa Bailey

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 384

Publication Date: 6/6/23

Categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary, Chick-Lit, Romance

A down-on-her-luck Napa heiress suggests a mutually beneficial marriage of convenience to a man she can’t stand… only to discover there’s a fine line between love and hate.

After losing her job and her fiancé in one fell swoop, Natalie Vos returned home to lick her wounds. A few months later, she’s sufficiently drowned her sorrows in cabernet and she’s ready to get back on her feet. She just needs her trust fund to finance her new business venture. Unfortunately, the terms require she marry before she can have the money. And well, dumped, remember? But Natalie is desperate enough to propose to a man who makes her want to kill him–and kiss him, in equal measure.

August Cates may own a vineyard, but he doesn’t know jack about making wine. He’s determined to do his late best friend proud, no matter what it takes. Except his tasting room is empty, his wine is disgusting (seriously, he once saw someone gag), and his buddy’s legacy is circling the drain. No bank will give him the loan he needs to turn the business around… and then the gorgeous, feisty heiress knocks on his door. Natalie has haunted his dreams since the moment they met, but their sizzling chemistry immediately morphed into simmering insults.

Now, a quickie marriage could help them both. A sham wedding, a few weeks living under the same roof, and then they can go their separate ways–assuming they make it out alive. How hard could it be? There’s just one thing they didn’t account for: their unfortunate, unbearable, undeniable attraction.

Content Warning: PTSD, grief

If you read Secretly Yours, then you will have met these two characters, Natalie (Julian’s sister) and August, in that story. So this story starts off right away with Natalie and August already going at it with the sexual innuendos, but it’s an enemies to lovers romance so Natalie is always trying to take him down a notch and August likes the torture and tries to match her tit for tat (literally lol). He is obsessed with her breasts – and tells her every chance he gets.

I thought the two of them were so funny because both of them are hot-heads and want to get their way. August is an ex-Navy SEAL so he is a bit intense but funny too. Natalie was intense too when it came to finance – the two of them was chaos at times but fun chaos. And when they finally relieve the sexual tension between its explosive, dirty, loud, and intense as they both are. I thought it was cute how they finally admitted to feelings for one another though.

I think this was the perfect sequel to Secretly Yours and very different from Julian and Hallie. It has the same spice, and more laughs in this one. I do think if you didn’t read the first book, you’d be shocked at how Natalie and August are already off to the races with hating and wanting one another. So just be aware of that if you didn’t read the first book.

Tropes: fake dating, enemies to lovers, marriage of convenience

My Final Thoughts:

I think Natalie and August make a great couple because of how they can set each other down but not be too offended. It’s a turn on for them actually! This story has enough spice to keep things juicy and enough laughs to make you root for the both of them.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Secretly Yours by. Tessa Bailey | ARC Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫
Hook, Line and Sinker by. Tessa Bailey | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
It Happened One Summer by. Tessa Bailey | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

WWW Wednesday | 9/20/23

WWW Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Sam over on Taking on a World of Words.

The idea is pretty simple, every week you dedicate a post to the three W’s:

What are you currently reading?

What have you just finished reading?

What are you going to read next?

Friends I have had no motivation to read lately! Maybe it’s because we’re approaching the last few months of the year? I don’t know! Anyway I’m working on some books pretty slowly.

What are you currently reading?

King of Pride by. Ana Huang

Forget Me Not by. Julie Soto

What have you just finished reading?

Happy Place by. Emily Henry ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Unfortunately Yours by. Tessa Bailey ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

The Blood Years by. Elana K. Arnold ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

What are you going to read next?

Artifacts of an Ex by. Jennifer Chen

Love in Winder Wonderland by. Abiola Bello

Didn’t See That Coming by. Jesse Q. Sutanto

What are you reading right now?

Books on My Fall 2023 To-Read List | TTT | 9/19/23

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together. Please check out her website for more TTT topics!

This week’s topic is:

Books on My Fall 2023 To-Read List

It’s going to be a good season of reading!!🥰

Two Twisted Crowns by. Rachel Gillig is the sequel to The Shepherd King, one of my favorite reads last year.

Throne of the Fallen by. Kerri Maniscalco is an adult novel which I’m assuming this means the book will be spicy? I hope so!

A Study in Drowning by. Ava Reid sounds like the perfect, gothic, dark fall read!

Witch of Wild Things by. Raquel Vasquez Gilliland is a book I want to read because I loved her last book.

Artifacts of an Ex by Jennifer Chen has an intriguing title and cute cover.

Love in Winter Wonderland by. Abiola Bello looks like a cute holiday read!

I’m on the book tour for Plot Twist by. Erin La Rosa, so I’ll be getting to that one soon.

Didn’t See That Coming is an arc that I’m going to be reading soon. I like the color of the cover!

A Curse for True Love by. Stephanie Garber, is one of the most anticipated books this year I think. I hope it lives up to expectations!

I felt like we got lucky to get two books from this series in ONE year! Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros is probably the most anticipated books this year…at least to us Fourth Wing fans! lol

Have you read any of these books? Are any of these on your TBR? What’s on your TTT?

Happy Book Birthday | New Releases | 9/19/23

Happy book birthday to these new releases! Check out this list today:

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. She’s had no choice. Since childhood, she’s been haunted by visions of the Fairy King. She’s found solace only in the pages of Angharad – author Emrys Myrddin’s beloved epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, and then destroys him.

Effy’s tattered, dog-eared copy is all that’s keeping her afloat through her stifling first term at Llyr’s prestigious architecture college. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to design the late author’s house, Effy feels certain this is her destiny.

But Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task: a musty, decrepit estate on the brink of crumbling into a hungry sea. And when Effy arrives, she finds she isn’t the only one who’s made a temporary home there. Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar, is studying Myrddin’s papers and is determined to prove her favorite author is a fraud.

As the two rival students investigate the reclusive author’s legacy, piecing together clues through his letters, books, and diaries, they discover that the house’s foundation isn’t the only thing that can’t be trusted. There are dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspiring against them – and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Goodreads | Amazon

Where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists…

“Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die.”

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book – Sortes Fortunae , the Book of Fortunes – with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose―to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel―who is fated never to be with her―have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest―alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales―has a mind of its own.

Goodreads | Amazon

Are you getting any new books this week?

Happy Reading!

Goodreads Monday: What the River Knows

Happy Monday!

Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme where you chose a random book from your Goodreads TBR and show it off. This meme is hosted by Budget Tales Book Blog.

Title: What the River Knows

Author: Isabel Ibañez

Pages: 416

Links: Goodreads | Amazon

Publication Date: 10/31/23

Synopsis:

 

Bolivian-Argentinian Inez Olivera belongs to the glittering upper society of nineteenth century Buenos Aires, and like the rest of the world, the town is steeped in old world magic that’s been largely left behind or forgotten. Inez has everything a girl might want, except for the one thing she yearns the most: her globetrotting parents—who frequently leave her behind.

When she receives word of their tragic deaths, Inez inherits their massive fortune and a mysterious guardian, an archeologist in partnership with his Egyptian brother-in-law. Yearning for answers, Inez sails to Cairo, bringing her sketch pads and an ancient golden ring her father sent to her for safekeeping before he died. But upon her arrival, the old world magic tethered to the ring pulls her down a path where she soon discovers there’s more to her parent’s disappearance than what her guardian led her to believe.

With her guardian’s infuriatingly handsome assistant thwarting her at every turn, Inez must rely on ancient magic to uncover the truth about her parent’s disappearance—or risk becoming a pawn in a larger game that will kill her.

The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in this lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.

Do you have plans to read this book? Let me know in the comments below!

Happy Place by. Emily Henry | Book Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Happy Place

Author: Emily Henry

Format: ebook (borrowed)

Pages: 400

Publication Date: 4/25/23

Categories: Women’s Fiction, Contemporary, Chick-Lit, Romance

Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in college—they go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, now—for reasons they’re still not discussing—they don’t.

They broke up six months ago. And still haven’t told their best friends.

Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend group’s yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.

Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week they’ll all have together in this place. They can’t stand to break their friends’ hearts, and so they’ll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. It’s a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week… in front of those who know you best?

A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.

Content Warning: grief, depression

I usually love Emily Henry books and I was excited for this one but maybe I should have read more reviews about it? I didn’t feel this one at all – and I don’t know if it was because I wasn’t in the mood or I just didn’t love the second-chance romance that this story is centered on. Or I wasn’t connecting to the characters? Maybe it was a combination of all of it.

Harriet and Wyn have broken up but they didn’t tell their best friends and they all meet up at their “happy place” at a cottage in Maine for one last hurrah before the cottage gets sold.

I did like Harriet talking about “happy places” in the past – the past chapters start with the place description. I will say sometimes I was confused if I was reading past or present at first. I can relate to the good ‘ol days with my college friends. It’s such a special time when you make new friendships in college that continue after you graduate. And I did love seeing how tight everyone was, even Kimmy who is Cleo’s girlfriend and kind of the newish one to the group – but she fits in. They have lots of memories and you can feel the closeness between all of them.

I also did like how reality sets in for the friends and they acknowledge how maybe they haven’t done a good job at keeping up with one another (because of time differences, space, etc…) since they all live apart now. But this mostly happens at the end of the book. For the most part it’s about Harriet and Wyn. They were together for 8 years and something or lots of things broke them…but we only get all the information later in the book, and that frustrated me. I struggled to read this one.

Harriet and Wyn being together “one last time” maybe felt like this book was about closure, possibly? And I appreciated their truths when it was revealed but why did it take so long to actually say what they wanted or talk about the break-up and how it happened. The communication between these two was driving me crazy but I get it shows how sometimes or LOTS of times, communication is one of the hardest parts of being in a committed relationship. I also didn’t connect to Harriet and Wyn or any of the characters – maybe Chloe is who I liked the most but everyone else? Not really.

A lot of the problems between the couples and friendships were so real in this book which is great but I was maybe hoping for a more lighthearted story because it was called Happy Place! Spoiler, there is a “happy” ending but I wasn’t feeling happy by the end of this lol…just tired.

Tropes: one bed, second chance romance

My Final Thoughts:

There were some things in this book I liked: the college best friends, the realness about friendships that maybe fall apart a little after moving away from one another, and the importance of communication in any worthwhile relationships. Because we see what happens when the communication is stunted – relationships can strain, they can break. But miscommunication in a story can be so frustrating sometimes, and that’s what this book mostly made me feel. I was going to rate it a 2.5 but then bumped it to a three because there were a lot of real issues she brought up in the book that I like, but it just made me feel sad. This one is my least favorite Emily Henry book, but hopefully the next one is better for me.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Book Lovers by. Emily Henry | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
People We Meet on Vacation by. Emily Henry | Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Beach Read by. Emily Henry| Book Review ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Weekly Wrap Up | 9/17/23

Aloha friends!

Can you believe September is almost over? I can’t! Just been busy with the kids and their homework and activities. Heard some news yesterday concerning my mom’s health and it has bummed me out but I’m going to try and stay positive about it and see what happens after her next doctor appointment/procedure. She has had blood in her urine off and on for 3 years now and they kept giving her antibiotics and saying it was a kidney infection but its back and she demanded an answer so they FINALLY took some tissue from her bladder and the doctor said its cancer. I’m devastated BUT I want to be positive, and keep her positive. She has a procedure in 3 weeks and they need to check her uterus also, etc…I’m praying they caught it “early” (except 3 years would have been earlier)and that it’s treatable…etc…I’m kind of mad it’s taken them 3 years to finally listen to her. I find it crazy because for me, one little blip on a mammogram and boom – it’s another mammo, an ultrasound, a biopsy, an MRI – like they got me a TEAM of people and I only have pre-cancer cells! Yet she’s had blood in her urine off and on for 3 years and it was no concern to them. It’s so frustrating and I’m going to pray for the best because I really, really, really can’t fathom….I don’t even want to think about it or else I’ll have anxiety. Anyway…hate that I have not so good news to share, but isn’t that life? I still gotta stay kinda oblivious and happy and steady for my kids while internally dealing with messy feelings. SIGH.

Anyway, hope you have a good week!

Blog Posts:

Books I Read:

Currently Reading:

Shows/Movies/Music I Watched/Listened To:

  • NFL Football – football is back! But I think I only have energy to watch Eagles games this year. We’ll see!

+++++

Music – the Olivia Rodrigo album, GUTS, is STILL on repeat! It’s such a good album.

How was your week? Did you get a lot done? Watch anything good? Read any amazing books or books you didn’t finish? What are you reading?…Leave me a comment below!

Night of the Witch by. Sara Raasch and Beth Revis | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Title: Night of the Witch (#1)

Author: Sara Raasch and Beth Revis

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 416

Publication Date: 10/3/23

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Categories: Historical Fiction, Historical Fantasy, New Adult, Romance, Fantasy, Witches, Witch Hunters, Series

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

A witch and a hunter. Vengeance is their mission. Love is their destiny.

Fritzi is a witch. A survivor of a brutal attack on her coven, she’s determined to find her only surviving family member and bring the hexenjägers—zealot witch hunters—to justice for the lives they ended. To do this, she will need to take down their leader—Kommandant Dieter Kirch.

Otto is a hexenjäger and a captain, the second in command to Dieter Kirch—but that’s just his cover. Years ago, the hexenjagers burned his innocent mother alive and since then, he has been planning a move against the witch hunters that tore his family apart. And now the time has come for them to pay for what they’ve done.

When Fritzi and Otto are unexpectedly thrown together, neither is sure they can trust the other, despite their common enemy. But all they have is one another, and they both crave revenge. As truths come to light and trust shifts, Fritzi and Otto uncover a far more horrifying plot at the center of the hexenjäger attacks . . . but their own growing feelings for each other may be the most powerful magic of all.

Content Warning: violence, burning at the stake, oppression

I love this book cover and I like how the story started off with jägers (witch hunters) destroying a coven of witches belonging to Fritzi and her family. She and her cousin are the only survivors. Otto is a kapitan, a high ranking jäger who hasn’t yet lit a pyre of witches but his time is coming to prove himself. The story definitely throws you right into the conflict.

Of course Otto is not who he seems and instead he is trying to help the witches, but he has to convince Fritzi of his plan. I really liked the setting and history about this town in Germany which had Roman rule for awhile and is deeply Catholic. The historical note even indicates that the Trier witch trials in 1581 Germany are real and lasted about 12 years! I liked that I learned something new. In the story, these jägers are brutal and witch hunting and burning/killing as many witches as they can find. There is a twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting but it made the villain much more villainous. It’s been awhile since I’ve hated a character for being evil and Dieter takes the cake. He is a vile character. But it becomes a fight between the witches versus Dieter and his jägers.

The romance between Fritzi and Otto happens quick! To think Fritzi hated him on the first day she met him but by day two she’s wildly attracted to him and it’s basically insta-love from then on out. They have some steamy scenes together but it’s fairly quick, not very detailed and fade to black.

It was a very quick, fast-paced read. I think some parts were rushed, like the romance and I would have loved if there were more magic in it. There are some spells that Fritzi does but I wish there was more. I did love that the Three: Maiden, Mother and Crone were involved in the story.

Tropes: insta-love, enemies to lovers, witch and witch hunter falling in love

Why you should read it:

  • witches and witch hunters
  • a good twist in the story that I wasn’t expecting
  • quick read and some good historical world-building

Why you might not want to read it:

  • insta-love, and story feels a bit rushed

My Thoughts:

I enjoyed this story because it was quick and had some historical notes that I found very fascinating. There is the typical witch and witch hunter falling for one another trope but it was a bit too insta-love for me. I think the villain was written very well though, since I grew to really dislike him! I wish there was more magic and spells but overall this was a fairly entertaining read.

Book Links:

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Hurricane Wars by. Thea Guanzon | ARC Review

My Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Title: The Hurricane Wars

Author: Thea Guanzon

Format: eBook (NetGalley)

Pages: 480

Publication Date: 10/3/23

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Categories: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, New Adult, Romance

Disclaimer: **I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Thank you to Harper Voyager for giving me a chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

The fates of two bitter enemies with opposing magical abilities are swept together in The Hurricane Wars, the spellbinding debut in a fantasy romance trilogy set in a Southeast Asia-inspired world ravaged by storms, perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and R. F. Kuang.

The heart is a battlefield.

All Talasyn has ever known is the Hurricane Wars. Growing up an orphan in a nation under siege by the ruthless Night Emperor, Talasyn has found her family among the soldiers who fight for freedom. But she is hiding a deadly secret: light magic courses through her veins, a blazing power believed to have been wiped out years ago that can cut through the Night Empire’s shadows.

Prince Alaric, the emperor’s only son and heir, has been forged into a weapon by his father. Tasked with obliterating any threats to the Night Empire’s rule with the strength of his armies and mighty Shadow magic, Alaric has never been bested. That is until he sees Talasyn burning brightly on the battlefield with the magic that killed his grandfather, turned his father into a monster, and ignited the Hurricane Wars. In a clash of light and dark, their powers merge and create a force the likes of which has never been seen.

Talasyn and Alaric both know this war can only end with them. But a greater threat is coming, and the strange new magic they can create together could be the only way to overcome it. Thrust into an uneasy alliance, they will confront the secrets at the heart of the war and find, in each other, a searing passion–one that could save their world…or destroy it.

An exquisite fantasy brimming with unforgettable characters, sizzling enemies-to-lovers romance, and richly drawn worlds, The Hurricane Wars marks the breathtaking debut of an extraordinary new writer.

Content Warning: violence, war

I wanted to read this book because how it is inspired by Southeast Asia, especially that the author is a Filipina and I wanted to see how my culture would look in this fantasy setting. Thing is it’s not only fantasy but fantasy/sci-fi which I thought was very interesting.

Talasyn is a soldier fighting to keep Sardovia from falling into the hands of the Kesath Empire, but it’s a losing battle because these Kesathese are relentless in their vengeance and desire to rule all. Prince Alaric is as formidable a fighter as Talasyn and when these two clash, my goodness, there are sparks, violence and a great start to an enemies to lovers romance. I loved the romance and it’s push and pull but it’s also a frustrating dance between them. There is one steamy scene between them and I was hoping there to be more but it really is a slow burn. I like Talasyn’s feistiness and I’m still hesitant to trust Alaric since his father really has a big influence on him but I do love all the tension and passion between them.

I did like Talasyn’s story. She’s an orphan with Lightweaver powers and she stumbles upon some information that reveals her past and the path for her future. I love the themes of family in the story also, which I think I relate to as a Filipina as well. I loved the mentions of the foods and culture and even the climate of the islands which reminded me of the Philippines.

Some parts that maybe I struggled with was the sci-fi elements and mostly because I wasn’t quite expecting it. I thought this was going to be pure fantasy, so even thought I thought the stormships and wasps (smaller ships) was cool – I couldn’t quite imagine what this world looked like at first. Also some names would throw me off like Allfold or the Voidfell. Also the story starts off with lots action and it does die down in the middle of the story but I think the tension between Alaric and Talasyn saved it from getting dull. I did like the different magic that Talasyn and Alaric could wield though. I also enjoyed the politics in the story which makes me wonder how long will it take Alaric to push away from his father’s rule. It will definitely be interesting to see what happens in book two.

Tropes: enemies to lovers, enemies teaming up together, slow burn, marriage of convenience

Why you should read it:

  • enemies to lovers romance
  • fighting scenes
  • interesting sci-fi/fantasy world and world building

Why you might not want to read it:

  • not into sci-fi/fantasy

My Thoughts:

After getting my bearings with the world building, I did find this story to be entertaining. This one grew on me the further I got into the story and I really think it’s because of the push and pull, enemies to lovers storyline between Talasyn and Alaric. I can’t resist an enemies to lovers trope. I like all the fighting that they do so I’ll definitely be reading book two just to see how Talasyn does in Alaric’s domain.

Book Links:

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